Teachers go public in bid for pay raise

Union’s ad blitz is designed to advance talks

The Boston Teachers Union launched a public relations blitz Thursday in hopes of swaying residents to its side as tense contract negotiations over pay continue.

The outreach began in the morning with advertisements in more than a dozen newspapers, including the Globe, urging readers to “Tell the Boston Public Schools to Stop the War on Teachers!’’ Then union organizers handed out fliers to passersby at City Hall Plaza at lunchtime.